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THE 

UNDERSTANDING 

CHURCH MUSIC: 



Whereby the names of the lines and spaces, are 
not altered, by the flats and sharps, 

FOR THE MILENNIUM. 

BY JOHN- STIIiIi-'WIIiIf, 

AUTHOR OF "THE LAST SPARK OF FREEDOM," 



The Odd Man's Tract, -X^-v.-^n. 

And so forth. ^^'L-^W^ 

THE NEW TEST-I-MENT. 



BALTIMORE: 

1838. 






Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the 
Clerk's Office of the District Court, in and for the 
District of Maryland, 



'ds-y^ 



THE UNDERSTANDING 



OP 



CHURCH MUSIC. 



m, , December the 27th, 1837. 

tp/K .r D "^ '%& *° ^^'' ^"^^°"- Being inspec- 
ted by the Rev. William Finney of Harford county 
in Maryland, for the sake of shifting the (political) 
gamut upwards, or downwards, as occasion may re- 
quire, instead of shifting the (republican) siave. 
l^ut my understanding may be blinded in such a 
manner, that I cannot see the necessity of shifting the 
nntn T ' ?' T ^^® American church toleration 
J\i u^^^T^ ^T^^^ information. However some 
01 the buildings do not front the west, with the wronL^ 

ri r^'^' '^l '""f^^ ^"^ '^^ ^^^' ^^°t foremost. 
Mark time in order for the republick. 

wit^ljr^Dv J'r'^'f ^" "^ ^^^'"^ ^" accordance 
with Ml. Dyer s four flats and sharp F, I am fully 
determined to ^ive mpnrv^ n t^,/ o '^"'^"iJy 
^oiinH n., fh^ • V^enryj U the same natura 

sound on the given stave. Whereas, with one flat 
instead of seven, the third sound of the naturalkey 

s^und'rr' ^P t^^"::' ^"""^- Because thelbu h 
sound b^low C has become the first of the seven 

fo"nd?f'F°"t'^'^T"^".^ ^ "^^ octave from the 
sound of F. Whereby, C has become the fifth 



sound, being in conjunction with the singer's G, 
when he sounds the word SOL, two whole tones 
below his upper B; instead of being on the right 
hand (with the singer's first sound) in conjunction 
with F, which is on the left hand, outside of the stave. 
But, as it is the sound of B, that is the only sound 
that I must alter with one flat, to agree with all the 
teachers of Music in this world. All the FA, SOL, 
LAS, may still remain as they were on the natural 
key, just by sounding Me flat through the whole 
tune, without a natural to restore Me, in the same 
manner as you sound many sharps through part of 

a tune. 

As for my part, 1 do not wish to take Me from 

B, for the sake of shifting one semitone, and this 

implies that I cannot shift them both by Mr. Dyer's 

system, because the seventh sound for such a flat 

B, is that same sound, which was called the third 

sound on the natural key, because E is ihe seventh 

sound from F. And you know it is the third sound 

on every Major key, that is the only foundation for 

any semitone, excepting the Me, and the Me is the 

seventh sound on the aforesaid key, consequently, if 

that which was the third sound, to form a semitone 

for the natural key, has become the seventh sound, 

of a flat key, to form a semitone by the Me, I must 

retain one of the natural semitones, by taking the 

lower one (as E) for the upper one. VVell then, 

where is the lower semitone for this flat B, if it is 

not three tones and a half lower than the aforesaid 

E. To explain this by a parable, suppose you 

have a pole with seven numbers marked on it, one 

below another, and the law demands that you shall 



have no more than seven original numbers on this 
octave pole. However, some one else, by marking 
numbers below, has converted your third number 
(as E) into a seventh number. The next thing you 
may want is an axe, to cut the four numbers off, 
which are above that which was your third number, 
and when they are off, you may say the sound of 
these numbers are not altered, merely because they 
are not sounded at all by striking the octave pole. 
Every time tliis fellow adds four numbers ai the 
bottom, you will be under the necessity of cutting 
four numbers off at the top, on account of the law 
that is herein stated. 

If B is flat only, I do not shift the FA, SOL, 
LAS, but I sound B flat through the whole tune, 
or part of the tune as the transition may require, 
because I cannot alter the sound of the lines or 
spaces, not even the sound of A in the space below 
Me, let alone the sound of C in the space above. 



Any transition that may be wrought in us indivi- 
dually, has nothing to do with our transposition in 
the government. But nevertheless, you will always 
find me a whole tone above the Minor key, whether 
I am fiat or sharp, because there is but one semi- 
tone above me, even on the Major key, whenever 
you begin with Henry Clay, until you sound me 
again. 

Question. 

What will become of the righteous, if the powers 

of righteousness are shaking on earth, in every de- 
1# 



partment of political Music, similar to that shaking 
which was spoken of concerning the downfall of 
Jerusalem, and recorded in the 21st chapter of 
Luke, at the 26th verse. 

The spirits of the brave. 
Are not inclined to vengeance, 
Although they try to save. 

Lead us not into temptation as some do, but nev- 
ertheless, deliver us all from evil, if you can. 

Signed Hope. 

N. B. The inscription of the money may belong 
to the Cesars, but the money itself belongs to them 
that earns it, and the tax money belongs to the 
public at large. 



F— 
E B 



oD— A 

a 

|c G 

■sB— 

6 F- 

^A- E 



F C 
E-^B- 



D A 



F 
E- 

D 

C 



7 
SCALE. 



The Singer's Stave. 



LA 
SOL 



-FA- 
LA 

-SOL- 



FA 
-ME- 



LA 
•SOL- 
FA 
-LA- 
SOL 
FA 



o 



8 

MR. Fulton's answer. 
To John Still-will, Professor of Music, 

You still appear to be the same inquisitive Musi- 
cal being that you were last winter, or your docu- 
ment which came to me is a mistake. You seem to 
be inquiring into a subject which you seem to un- 
derstand perfectly. And therefore, I deem it un- 
necessary for me to attempt to enlarge upon this 
difficult science Your writing is high and a sub- 
stantial proof of your acquirement, because you 
have reached far beyond the Musical composers of 
modern or ancient times: and struck a new and un- 
trodden path, by which you outstrip even prophecy. 
My advice to you is the motto of Davy Crockett, 
go ahead, and you will accomplish as much as did 
Petropindo when he strove ten yeais to get an iron 
ring on the horn of the moon, in order that he might 
make use of it as a locomotive to carry him to the 
skies. It is a lamentable fact that Mr. Dyer is dead, 
otherwise you might challenge him for a spar, with 
semibreves and so forth. 

C is the natural key of the Major scale, and C 
its octave, and so it is with all the rest of the letters 
used in Music. 

Question. 

Where are the relative Minor keys, to all the 
Major keys, if they are not young Adams men; and 
where are the relative Major keys, to all the Minor 
keys, if they are not old headed Clay men. 

Cago. 



Mr, Fulton — Sir — 
As one of the Dyers I have lived among the dead, 
But taking your advice I may be holy lead: 
Whereas I now ask the following question respect- 
ino- the fallibility of the Protestants, as well as ail 
the Popes, in preserving the origmal sense ot bcrip- 

ture. 

Question. 
Who was the father of Joseph the husband of 
Mary, according to the present translation, as it is 
found in the first chapter of Matthew at the Ibth 
verse, comparing this 16th verse with the 2od verse 
in the 3d chapter of Luke. . 

Whereas, the huts, ifs and ands, are not all in 
their proper places. I ask this question because 
Matthew says that Jacob begat Joseph, and Lu^e 
reads as though it was Heli, merely because the 
word, but, is not found in this printed matter be- 
tween the word Joseph, and the word which in the 
last clause of this 2.3d verse in Luke's third chapter. 
This verse says that Heli was the father ot Joseph; 
just as much as we read in the 31st verse of the 
same chapter that Nathan was the son of David, 
which no one has ever disputed. , ny - f 
But the next question is, whether the offspring ol 
Nathan, which is given in the third chapter ot 
Luke, could be expected to be the same, as the 
offspring of his own brother Solomon, that is given 
in the first chapter of Matthew. ,, r ' *o 

I wish the reader to pay a particular attention to 
this matter, because it is a merry-caU, whereby an 
everlasting faith may be established by history on 
this subject. 



10 

See the first book of Chronicles, third chapter at 
the fifth verse, because that will prove that Solomon 
and Nathan were whole brothers, having the same 
father and the same mother 

Concordia Day, 1838. 
As for Thomas Jefferson being in accordance 
with me, will become self-evident, because I hold 
it to be my will, that all men should be considered 
legitimate, being born equal respecting their father 
mheritance, as well as religious and political rights. 
For my part, I will admit, that I cannot declare my 
generation, although I believe I have three sons 
now living, that were born in the city of Philadel- . 
phia, by the name of Still-will. ;?•«« 

N. B. God is not God of the dead. I fancy they 
were destroyed in hell, by the natural book of 
death, because they acted contrary to the natural 
book of life. I also fancy, that they did not en- 
deavor to leave the world for posterity, better than 
they found it. 

Wo unto them that go into the lake that burneth 
as an oven, with charcoal, nitre, und brimstone, 
where the worm of evil contention, dieth not, until 
thg subject is destroyed. 

Far better for such people, had they not been 
born — again. 

General Jackson, in his letter to the editor of the 
Globe, July 23, 1837, said, "I hope no treasury 
notes will be issued." 

However, 1 do not wish the reader to ima<^ine 
that I am about to confute Mr. Van Buren alto- 



11 

gether, with General Jackson's arguments, because 
I differ with them both, about the present mode of 
banking. 

For instance, if the congressmen are to be the 
directors in Mr. Van Buren's Bank, it appears evi- 
dent to me, that their private property should be 
made subject to seizure by LAW, for all the trea- 
sury notes they issue, that is any thing more than 
drafts, or actual due bills for real value received be- 
fore these notes, drafts, or due bills, are issued. 
This should be the case, because the people are the 
stockholders of the public treasury, and their private 
property may be subject to seizure on the high seas 
and elsewhere, in case a foreign nation should hold 
a great number of these treasury notes, when our 
rulers might wish to breed a war, by not paying 
them on demand, similar to the breeding of the war 
in Baltimore, against the Bank of Maryland, on the 
8th, 9th -nd 10th of August, 1835. 

And so it is, that the stockholders private pro- 
perty, may be subject to seizure for the debts of the 
^company or nation. . - ♦v ^ " 

Question. 

How is it, that any man who pays a tax, might 
read his receipt in a public newspaper, as weU as 
every item of the public expense. 

This is published in the briefest and most econ- 
omical manner, for the want of greater resources. 

Finished the 9th of March, 1838. 

Prudence. 



12 

Saint Stephen's accusers said,* 

In the Acts of the Apostles, sixth 

chapter and fourteenth verse, 

*We have heard [this Stephen] say, that this 

Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place [meaning 

old Jerusalem] and shall change the customs which 

Moses delivered us. 

*Wherefore saint Stephen made answer. 

In the Acts of the Apostles seventh 
chapter and thirty-seventh verse, 
*This is that Moses, and again, This is he. 

Now, it appears evident to me, that he had a 
right to change his own customs, by his own suffer- 
ings, wherever they might appear wrong to him, as 
from the experience of the Jews, as well as from 
the experience of the ancient Edonites that were 
before the Jews. 

Signed, evE backwards. 

See Revelation 19th chap. 15th verse. 




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